January real estate sales up

Real estate sales sped up substantially across Florida in January 2011 compared to the same month a year ago, as sales of existing homes and condos increased 14% and 36% by volume over the year.

But prices fell. The median sale price for an existing single-family home dropped 7% over the year, down to $122,200, while the median price for condos fell 18% to $79,400, according to Florida Realtors.

In the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, 1,911 existing homes were sold in January, a 19% over-the-year increase. The median price for those sales was $110,000, down 16%.

Sales were up 12% by volume in the Sarasota-Bradenton market, where 742 homes were sold, compared to 662 in January 2010. But the median sale price fell by a double-digit percentage there, too, down 13% to $136,300.

Fort Myers-Cape Coral home sales fell 4%, from 1,115 to 1,072. The median sale price went down 3% over the year, to $88,500.

The Tampa condo market saw a huge shift toward bargain condo buying: sales were up 28% by volume, but the median price fell 34%, from $100,200 to $66,100. Sarasota saw similar trends, as condo sales increased 6% while the median price fell 13%.

But the Fort Myers condo market may be stabilizing, at least from a price perspective. Roughly the same number of units was sold in January 2011 as in the same month a year ago, but the median price increased 9%, from $121,400 to $131,900.